Early jazz - photo 1
Early jazz - photo 2

Early jazz

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£ 630
Auction dateClassic
28.09.2023 13:00UTC +01:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
United Kingdom, London
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Archive
ID 1016522
Lot 133 | Early jazz
Early jazz

Two rare vintage gelatin silver photographs of early five-piece African-American jazz bands, 1920s

EARLY JAZZ



Two rare vintage gelatin silver photographs of early five-piece African-American jazz bands, 1920s: the first of Belton’s Society Syncopators, c.1920, inscribed in pencil on the reverse of the mount in an unknown hand ‘Mr. C. S. Belton… c/o Scarborough New York, N.Y. – from – Wilbert’; the second of Johnny Hubbard and His Jazz Hounds, Pittsfield, MA., c.1923.



Founded in the late 1910s by Floridians Cortlandt Sevelle and his brother Wilbert Belton, the Belton’s Society Syncopators never recorded, notes Thomas J. Hennessey, yet were well known for their ‘blend of brass band and [Don] Redman-style big band playing that stressed section work and showmanship’. With leader Belton styling himself the ‘Duke Ellington of the South’ the successful band expanded over the years, eventually becoming a 14-piece, though ultimately folding by the mid-1930s. Likely inspired by Mamie Smith’s ‘Jazz Hounds’, little is known of Johnny Hubbard’s smartly attired band, identified by their name on the bass drum. Hennessey, Jazz to Swing, 109. Francis, Panama’s Story, 1-2. Deffaa, Swing Legacy, 106. Wilkinson, Big Band Jazz, 94.



Belton's Society Syncopators – gelatin silver print, 129 x 178 mm, mounted to board (198 x 249 mm); Johnny Hubbard – sepia-toned gelatin silver print, the image by John F. Mayes, with stamped photographer’s credit to the reverse of the mount, 193 x 235 mm, mounted to board (303 x 357 mm).

Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
28.09.2023 – 28.09.2023
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